Megliola: Red Sox focused on the present

All season long Red Sox manager John Farrell has preached putting the previous day’s game to bed in a heartbeat, whether it was a tough loss or a runaway win. "I think we’ll be ready to go," he said after the excruciating Game 1 defeat to the Tigers in the ALCS. Whether the Red Sox went to Detroit with the series tied or down 0-2, "you put yesterday there and leave it," said Farrell Sunday.

All season long Red Sox manager John Farrell has preached putting the previous day’s game to bed in a heartbeat, whether it was a tough loss or a runaway win. "I think we’ll be ready to go," he said after the excruciating Game 1 defeat to the Tigers in the ALCS.

Whether the Red Sox went to Detroit with the series tied or down 0-2, "you put yesterday there and leave it," said Farrell Sunday.

No doubt though that going to Detroit for three games down 0-2 would be a bad idea, and Clay Buchholz had the burden of not making that be the case. Before the series began, Buchholz said "this is where you want to be," meaning the postseason. Sunday, with Buchholz on the mound, those words took on added significance. The mound was exactly where he wanted to be to get his team even in the series.

Buchholz is considered to have the best stuff on the staff. "I wish he hadn’t missed three months, I can tell you that," said Farrell. The length of Buchholz’s setback took everyone by surprise. "Two weeks turned into three months," said Farrell.

Since his return, "it’s been fun so far," said Buchholz. Game 2 would either make it more fun or put the Red Sox in a bad place. And, just as an aside, shouldn’t it be illegal to pitch Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander back-to-back?

"We’ve got five good starting pitchers," said Tigers skipper Jim Leyland. Thanks for the heads-up.

By the way, the following is why Leyland is a pretty popular guy. There’s no baloney with him. Check this out before Game 2:

Q: Can you give us your thinking on your shortstop, left field decisions today?

A: Yeah, Peralta is playing short and Kelly is playing left.

Q: Could you explain?

A: What do you want (me) to explain? That’s the way I played it in Game 5 of the Championship series. Very simple. I though that would give us the best chance to win (Sunday night).

The guy’s beautiful.

There’s no questioning who Leyland sends to the mound. The Tigers’ arms are so potent that right fielder Torii Hunter said "it’s boring" playing behind them. "I don’t get any (fly) balls. They feed off each other." But he’s thrilled he doesn’t have to face those guys anymore.

Farrell didn’t think being down a game to the Tigers would amp up the pressure on his team. It is the playoffs, after all. "I think this time of year there’s urgency to everything we do," Farrell said. "It’s not about putting additional pressure on ourselves. It’s about being the team we’ve been throughout the course of the year."

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"Pressure goes with the territory," said Jonny Gomes, "but you can’t change the way you play."

Hunter and David Ortiz go back a long way. Remember what an October-killer Big Papi was when Hunter played for the Angels?

Hunter and Ortiz first met up as kids in the Twins system. "He didn’t care about his defense," said Hunter. "Forget that. I just want to hit."

The Twins gave up on Ortiz and the rest is history. "The Red Sox found a gold mine," said Hunter. "I thought he was our best hitter with the Twins in 2002."